Telephone regulation bill OK'd by Kentucky Senate panel

7:27 PM,
Feb. 11, 2013

Ky state seal

Written by

The Courier-Journal

A bill that critics say could allow telephone companies to abandon land lines in rural areas where there aren't many customers and strip the state Public Service Commission of oversight passed a state Senate committee on Monday.

Supporters of Senate Bill 88, however, argue that the bill would simply update existing regulations and give incentives to companies like AT&T, Cincinnati Bell and Windstream to update technology.

Under the law, those companies are deemed to be "carriers of last resort" and are required to offer basic phone service. For many years, the companies were repaid by ...